~ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you … John 13:34

Esther and obedience

Re-reading the Book of Esther as part of my Lenten practice, I am reminded that the last time I read it was when we ‘did it’ in the sixth form. I remember then some of the girls saying that they thought Esther should have taken a more direct line in trying to save the Jews in the Persian Empire, but that seemed to me then, and seems even more so now, a reading designed to prove some modern feminist point rather than a prayerful one which may yield spiritual fruit.

Esther is a female orphan – the very type of mankind after the fall and exile (she like all the Jews is in exile in Persia); in terms of status, it was impossible to be poorer or lowlier. Her great beauty won for her an exalted state, but she is far from being mistress of her own fate.

Mordecai, her guardian, and perhaps her step-father, discovers that Hamam, the King’s Chief Minister, has secured approval from the King to have all the Jews exterminated. He makes a public spectacle of mourning, doing so near the palace of the King. Esther tries to get him to stop, sending him clothing to replace the sackcloth and the ashes, but her refuses. He gives Esther proof of what is being planned and urges her to intercede, implying it is for this purpose she has been rescued from her lowly state.

I feel for Esther. On the one hand her guardian, a man used to being obeyed, is urging her to intercede for her people, and on the other, the imperious King of Kings. Mordecai piles on the pressure, warning her that she need not expect to be saved if the King discovers,as he will, that she is a Jew; he asks, rhetorically what other hope there is – and in context the meaning is clear – if Esther does not act ruin will come to the Jews. As if this is not enough, he reminds her that she is the sole carrier of the family name, and if she dies, the family dies with her – so, no pressure then!

In all of this there is no mention of God, or any sign Mordecai thinks the salvation of the Jews can come via any source other than Esther. Esther knows, and tells him, that if she goes unbidden to the King, she will fall from favour and may even lose her life. But she agrees to do what she can – but, having accepted his instructions, issues some of her own, showing where she thinks salvation is to be found. She asks him and all the Jews to fast for three days, saying she and her ladies will do the same.

Then Queen Esther, seized with deadly anxiety, fled to the Lord. 2 She took off her splendid apparel and put on the garments of distress and mourning, and instead of costly perfumes she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she utterly humbled her body; every part that she loved to adorn she covered with her tangled hair. 3 She prayed to the Lord God of Israel, and said: “O my Lord, you only are our king; help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, 4 for my danger is in my hand.

She apologizes for the idolatry committed by her people, as well as for her own sinfulness in being the concubine of a pagan king”

You know my necessity—that I abhor the sign of my proud position, which is upon my head on days when I appear in public. I abhor it like a filthy rag, and I do not wear it on the days when I am at leisure.

She asked for help. After three days fasting and humiliation, she dresses in her finery and goes to the courtyard of the Palace, asking the Lord God to lend her aid. The same text has the dramatic story of her intervention – which involves her fainting before the King, and the Lord softening his anger and asking her to speak. Even then, she only invites him and Hamam to a feast on the following day. She is respectful of the King and his rules, and she does not, as Mordecai would have, ruin things by making her will and fears the centre of her concerns.

That night Ahasuerus suffers from insomnia, and asks for the court records to be read to him, no doubt so he could reflect on his own glories. In them is the record of the services Mordecai had rendered him, and he is reminded that the Jew has received no reward. This is shame to the King of Kings who, when Hamam comes to see him in the morning (to demand the death of Mordecai), asks him what should be done for the man the King wishes to honour. The vain Hamam, assuming he is the man, advises the person should be dressed in the King’s robes and led around on his horse with the announcement that this is how the King rewards his faithful servants; he is duly nonplussed when Ahasuerus tells him to do that for Mordecai.

At the second feast, Esther reveals she is Jewish, and tells a furious Ahasuerus of Hamam’s plot to kill her and all the Jews. The King leaves the room in great anger, and Hamam falls across Esther’s lap, begging her to intercede for him. His timing and method were equally bad, as when Ahasuerus comes back into the room, he assumes Hamam was attempting to assault Esther and orders him to be hanged on the gallows prepared for Mordedai, who takes Hamam’s exalted place.

But the Great King cannot annul his decree without losing face. What he can do, however, is to get Esther and Mordecai to write a decrees allowing the Jews to take action against those who try to destroy them – which is what happens – and Esther secures the death of Hamam’s sons. It is in honour of this deliverance the Jewish feast of Purim was established.

Esther worked within the huge limitations her position imposed on her. She did not, as the men in the story all sought to, impose her will on events. But what she did was to rely on God. She did penance, she confessed her sins, but she had faith that God would supply what was lacking. She found the courage to act, despite the danger, and God heard her prayer and saved her and her people. Not the heroism of all those powerful men, which in the end laid waste to many lives, but the quiet and humble faith that the Lord would save – as only he can.

Jock, I think the sense of this as rendered in the old Douay Rheims Haydock Bible along with the commentary makes Mordecai’s words a statement of great faith in God’s protection. As Mordecai seems to be saying that she will lose her life and her family (him) will lose their lives as well . . . but the Jews will somehow survive. But he does have the belief that Esther was in the position that she had gained in order that she might be the intercessor for the people of God and that he could see no other person capable of doing this.

I’d agree with all of that. Although he doesn’t explicitly mention God, his words show that he had great faith in God and His providence. He knew that relief would come. If Esther didn’t ‘play ball’ he didn’t know where it would come from, but he sure knew that it would come.

We see that he understands both the main strands of Christian thinking; the Providence of God (God is above and almighty and looking after us) and our responsibility. We have a responsibility to do the right thing and if we don’t do it, we face the consequences ‘if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.’

A man of great faith, who understood his responsibility before God (‘free will’ if you’re a Catholic and like the term) and at the same time he understood God’s determinate counsel; God wouldn’t let him or Esther thwart His plans.

I agree. Few have faith to think that God may be using them as His instrument . . . and leave it off for another. In this case both Mordecai and Esther accepted their responsibility and God was with them and delivered them from defeat.

There is a bit of morbid humour I have always found in the last act of Haman prior to his execution and I wonder if the king did a little bit more than just what the text says.
Esther 7:8 – When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman had thrown himself on the couch where Esther was reclining; and the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face.

Oh yes, when the text speaks of gallows, these are the gallows that are being described:

The notion of hanging by noose was not very well recognized in the Near East.

If one stands on gods promises, god is faithful, not like men who are unfaithful.
My daughter is born again. I can feel at ease, not that I ever doubted Christ. Of all the people on earth, my daughter is the one I couldn’t bare to think of her in hell.
I just found out yesterday.

thank you good sister. Im at peace. I felt the fire of evangelism start to go out in me. I have run the race. I will still tell anyone the good news if im moved to. Everyone here has heard the good news. …….and the bad news.

The community in Normandy where I was received into the Catholic Church was the Community of the Beatitudes. The Jewish festivals are celebrated alongside the Catholic festivals, and so there is a wonderful point during the middle of Lent – which is followed very strictly – when Purim suddenly brings a festive carnival into the Lent routine! Everyone dresses up in fancy costumes and there is Israeli folk dance. The book of Esther is read at the meal table and every time the name of Haman is read out, everyone shouts and bangs the table to make such a din as would expel the very devil !

The dancing includes the traditional Purim dance in which there is a stylized drunken sway – in recognition of the way that the events of Purim story are largely the result of too much wine – and the drinking of copious quantities of wine in this celebration is indeed part of the fun. A great time is had by all, but I’m sure it would present a real challenge for the “saved” among our number… 🙂

I am ignorant of ‘scholarly exegesis’ on the matter, but I imagine that some Old Testament scholar could make a great reputation for himself by expounding the hypothesis that Haman was a repressed homosexual. The performance that he outlined for ‘the man whom the king delights to honour’ all looks a bit gay to me and I wonder how Mordecai really felt, being forced to go through with such a performance.

"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." J.R.R. Tolkien <br>“I come not from Heaven, but from Essex.” William Morris